Cleveland Browns Depth Chart 2018Browns Depth Chart

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6:00 pm UTC, 12/30

It took a few games, but the Browns fired Hue Jackson, and turned the keys to the offense over to Baker Mayfield. The Browns looked very good this season, and Mayfield was a big part of that. We know he will be the guy moving forward, and that offseason competition with Tyrod Taylor seems silly now. The Browns signed Carlos Hyde in the offseason, creating a three man competition, but when they traded him to Jacksonville in the middle of the season, Nick Chubb’s time had arrived. Chubb is a workhorse RB1, and Duke Johnson’s role was carved back out as the RB2 in the second half of the season. The next step is going to be solidifying their wide receiver core. Jarvis Landry is the WR1, yet numbers suggest otherwise. We saw Antonio Callaway and Rashard Higgins play WR2 and WR3 roles, but this isn’t a lock as we look forward to 2019. Breshad Perriman came on late, and after being cut from Baltimore as a high draft pick, his name is one to at least keep an eye on. David Njoku is an extremely talented receiving tight end, who landed the tight end role at the beginning of the season. He is in no danger of losing that moving forward, and has developed into one of Mayfield’s favorite targets.

Preseason Analysis: Playoff Aspirations

Cleveland had two of the top five picks, landing Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward. They went on to add Austin Corbett, an offensive lineman with the first pick of the second round before shortly turning around to get Nick Chubb out of Georgia. The Browns were not done there, adding Antonio Callaway, a wide receiver out of Florida. In addition to their draft picks, they signed Carlos Hyde as Isaiah Crowell went elsewhere. The big landing was Jarvis Landry, giving their starting quarterbacks a very good receiving core. David Njoku is an athletic tight end in his second year, and this offense on paper looks pretty good. Tyrod Taylor is expected to start, while Baker Mayfield will learn under him at least for the time being. You have to feel pretty good about this core moving forward, as Duke Johnson, Corey Coleman, and Josh Gordon remain in Cleveland. This is a team that presents a bit of a logjam, especially if Chubb gets in on the action. If this team dedicates more to the run game, which it could very well do, then targets will become somewhat iffy. Taylor isn’t a downfield threat guy, so Landry is someone who profiles well to fit in on year one in Cleveland.

The Browns, coming off a disastrous 0-16 season, have completely overhauled their team through a monster draft class and a number of trades. While it’s hard to see a team going from 01-6 to the playoffs, all signs point to a Cleveland team that will be far improved from the 2017 version. It’s hard to find much to be positive about when looking at Cleveland’s 2017 season. The 0-16 record is as bad as it gets, and the underlying numbers aren’t any better. The Browns scored the fewest points in the league while giving up the second most. That’s obvious proof that the Browns’ problems extend to both sides of the ball. It’s probably going to take multiple years of infusing new talent into the team to get from 0-16 to a playoff berth.

2018 Draft

After the nightmare that was the 2018 season, Browns fans will be looking for hope anywhere they can find it. And fortunately, the 2018 draft can provide that hope. Coming into the draft, the Browns had easily the most valuable collection of picks, including the number 1 and number 4 overall picks. They struck first by drafting Baker Mayfield, whom they hope will be the franchise quarterback Cleveland has been looking for over the past three decades plus. With the fourth pick they selected CB Denzel Ward, who should start immediately as a top corner back. Cleveland continued to add to the offense in round two with multiple picks, selecting an OT and a RB. In the third round, they addressed defense with a DE, and in the later rounds they added a couple or WRs and a LB and CB. All in all, the Browns brought in a bevy of high-upside athletes at a variety of positions. Any team would be envious of Cleveland’s draft haul.

2018 Free Agency and Trades

As large as their 2018 draft haul was, the Browns actually traded several mid-round picks to acquire established NFL talent as well. The two big names coming in are WR Jarvis Landry and QB Tyrod Taylor, acquired for a fourth and third round pick respectively. They also acquired CB Damarious Randall, who may slide over to safety in their system. In free agency, the Browns were quieter, acquiring RB Carlos Hyde and CB T.J. Carrie, as well as a few other less notable players. The Browns seem content to hoard their salary cap space, which currently is the most in the league by a wide margin. Cleveland’s strategy at this point seems to be to build via the draft and trades rather than free agency.

Offensive Outlook

When it comes to both offense and defense, there are large number of unknowns surrounding the Browns, and it starts with the quarterback position. Tyrod Taylor is a known quantity, not top tier but somewhat underappreciated. However, all eyes are on number 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield. How soon he plays and how he performs when he does will be the biggest story for Cleveland and one of the biggest in the NFL. Last year’s offense was putrid, and there are a lot of new faces in the offensive unit looking to change things. WR Josh Gordon is now joined by Pro-Bowler Jarvis Landry, and the running game is completely overhauled with Carlos Hyde and second round pick Nick Chubb. There’s no denying that the Browns have significantly more talent on offense than they did last year. What’s unknown is how well that talent will mesh, and how the Browns will use them within OC Todd Haley’s scheme.

Defensive Outlook

Just like with the offense, the defense sees a number of new players joining a beleaguered 2017 unit. However, optimists will note that part of the problem with the Browns’ defense started with the offense. If the offense continually goes 3 and out or turns the ball over, even a decent defense will wear down. The Browns are hoping that improvements on defense will translate to an improved defense. Meanwhile, the Browns have overhauled their secondary completely, with first round pick Denzel Ward joining free agent signing T.J. Carrie and trade acquisition Damarious Randall to build a secondary that should be far better than last year’s. Up front, the Browns will hope that talented DE Myles Garrett can shake off the injury woes that plagued him during his first season and lead an improving pass rush. There’s nowhere to go but up from 0-16. The Browns were as bad as it’s possible to be last year, but this year brings many reasons for hope. The Browns added more talent than any team in the NFL, including a quarterback prospect some believe has a chance to be elite. This year figures to be another year of growth for the Browns. But at least there are signs of hope.